Method of and apparatus for washing garments or the like



A. T. MOORE ET AL METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR WASHINGI GARMENTS OR THE LIKE Filed Dec. 9, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet l v'f/ ATTORNEY.

'Auig- 3- A. Ti MOORE ET AL ,328,026

METHOD OF AND APPARATUb FOR WASHING GARMENTS OR THE LIKE Filed Dec. 9, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 W i T .e, :1 :0 O 9 llllillll lillllllfll WATTORNEY -3 1943. A. T. MOORE ET AL 2,328,026

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR WASHIN G GARMENTS OR THE LIKE Filed Dec. 9, 1938 .3 Sheets-Sheet 3 I Patented Aug.'3l, 1943 METHOD or AND APPARATUS FOR WASHING GARMENTS on THE LIKE Arthur '1. Moore and Carl R. Ebling, Batavia, N. Y.; said Ebling assignor to said Moore Application December 9, 1938, Serial No. 244,826

Claims.-

The present invention relates to a method of in many ways as by plungers or oscillating dollies disposed in the washing machine tub or by rotatinga cylindrical tub having projections, ribs, or baiiies on the interior surface thereof. Since a large quantity of water is needed to cover the garments in the tubs of these prior machines a proportionatelylarge quantity of soap must be used to alkalize the water suillciently to obtain proper cleaning of the garments. Another disadvantage present in known machines is that the soapy water must be drained from the washing machine if they are to be rinsed in the washing machine. Since several rinslngs are required not only is a large amount of water needed but also much time is consumed in draining the soapy water and the, rinse water from the machine. I

The present invention has for its purpose to overcome the disadvantages of present washing machines and also to provide an improved method of washing garments or the like whereby the time required to thoroughly clean them is substantially reduced. To accomplish this end it is proposed to wash garments or the like by repeatedly tossing or throwing them between two surfaces,-under a continuous spray of a cleaning fluid and draining thefluid from the garments. Thereis also provided an improved washing machine comprising a cradle for the garments or the like, which may be oscillated to throw the garments from one side thereof to the other, while continuously spraying a cleaning or rinsing fluid-on the garments, means being provided for recirculating the cleaning and rinsing fluids and for oscillating the cradle. I

Further features of the invention will appear from the detailed description and claims when taken with the drawings in which:

- P18. 1 is a vertical section view of a washing machine embodying the principles of the present invention; the section being taken on line l--l of P18. 2;

Fig.2 is a plan of the machine shown in section in Fig. 1 and a 7 Fig.3 is a right side view of the machine shown in Figs. '1 and 2, and ustrating the two exstreme positions of the radle and the mechanism for operating the same. v

Referring to the drawings, there is illustrated a washing machineincorporating the principles of the present invention and specifically adapted to perform the improved method of washing garments and the like as will appear hereinafter. The washing machine, generally designated 5 comprises a frame including the legs 6 and the horizontal side rails I, preferably made of angle iron. A casing 8 of sheet metal or the like supported on this frame, has a sliding panel or door 9 provided with a convenient handle in thereon, so that the panel may be raised to furnish access to the interior ll of the casing. A loading platform ii at the front of the casing and immediately below the sliding panel aids the operator in loading and unloading clothes from the washing machine. Since it is proposed to continuously spray water, a soap solution or other suitable cleaning agent upon the garments during the washing operation, the lower part of the casing 8 comprises a drainage tub which is substantially W-shaped in section. While this tub may be an integral part of the-casing it is preferably made separate therefrom so that the upper part of the casing is removable to facilitate assembly and repair of the machine. The front and rear tub compartment l5 and I6 respectively, are connected by means of pipes ii to the suction pump P so that liquid draining into these compartments during the washing operation can be rapidly removed therefrom and thus prevent the cradle I 8, to be later described, from being imthe cradle thereon are adapted to be oscillated in a manner and by a mechanism to be hereinafter described. The cradle resembles a hollow sector of a cylinder having front and rear bottom walls, 22 and 23 respectively whichconverge toward the axle, and also having side walls 24 and the'arcuate top wall 25. The bottom walls, and if desired, the remaining walls of the cradle, are perforated to allow :the cleaning solution to drain into the tub compartments. A section or door 25 of the top wall is hinged as at 21 to provide an opening which may be alined with the opening in the front of the casing so that the garments or the like to be washed, may be placed hinged to the cradle, like door 9, it may 'be slid ably mounted if desired. One or more suitable latches" are provided along the free edge of the hinged section for securely looking it in closed position while the machine is operating.

In" order to perform'the method of washing garments which forms a part of the present invention, the cradle I8 is oscillated about the axis of the axle 20 between its extreme position indicated by the dotted lines 29 (Fig. 3) in the front tub compartment l to the extreme position' indicated by dotted lines30 (Fig. 3) in the rear tub compartment l6, while continuously spraying a suitable cleaning or rinsing fluid on the garments in the cradle. The cleaning and rinsing fluids are directed onto the garments in the cradle by means of the perforated'spray pipe 3| (Fig. 1) extending across the upper part of the cradle.

clothes.

The oscillation'of. the cradle is such that in moving from one extreme position 29 to the other A transverse shaft 43 supported for rotation in extreme position and vice versa, the speed of I the cradle accelerates until it reaches approximately the mid-point in its travel, that is, substantially the position shown in Fig. 1, and then decelerates until coming to a momentary stop at its other extreme position. This motion causes the garments to be tossed or thrown from one side of the cradle to the other side thereof, after the cradle has completed more than half of its travel, eiiecting a thorough pounding of the The force of this pounding is due not ,only to the momentum of the garments but also to the fact that the cradle preferably reaches the end of its travel and is moving in the opposite direction by the time the clothes reach the opposite side of the cradle. This repeated pou din of the garments in the presence of a continuous spray of cleaning or rinsing fluid, provides a very eflective washing action in that the fluid is expressed from the garments with each pounding of the clothes. It will be .understood that the oscillation of the cradle will be continued a suitable length of time until the clothes are thoroughly washed and cleaned.

In order to obtain the above described oscillation of the cradle, the projecting ends of the axle 20 are provided respectively with the crank arms 33 and 34 which are shown offset approximately 180 with respect to each other. It is not essential that two crank arms be provided and the crank arms need not be ofiset relative to each other, since they may be'alined if desired. The free end of each crank arm has one end of a related link 35 pivoted thereto, the other end of each of the links being in turn pivoted at 36 to the respective slide members 31' and 36 located at the sides of the washing machine. The slide members are also offset angularly'with respect to each other, as will be apparent from a comparlson of Figs. 1 and. 3, and are mounted for reciprocatory movement between the spaced sets forated spray pipes 3| extending across the arcuof guide rolls 39 supported by means of brackets 40 on the adjacent side rail 1 of the frame. It

a 31 and 38 will also be alined and not offset relative toieach other as shown. i In order to reciprocate the slide members 31 and 38 and thereby oscillate the cradle between the two extreme positions 29 and 30 (Fig. 3),

, leakage. communicates with the interior of the hollow portion of the axle and is connected to the spray pipes 3| for conducting the cleaning and rinsing within the cradle. While the door 26 is shown each slide memberis provided with a yoke or guide block 4| having a slot, 42 therethrough.

the bearings 44 mounted on the side rails 1 at the rear of the casing 8, is provided with a'large gear 45 at one end and an arm 46 at the other end. A roller 41 pivotally mounted on the free end of the arm 46 runs in the slot of the adjacent guide block 4| while a roller 46 pivotally mounted on the outer face of the gear 45 runs in the slot of the other guide block. It will be understood that each of these rollers are spaced equally from the axis of the transverse shaft 43. A small pinion gear 49, driven by the motor M through a gear reduction unit 56, engages the large gear 45 to rotate the same. i

From the above described mechanism, it will be understood that as the pinion gear 49 rotates to drive the large gear 45, each of the rollers 41 and 48 will move in a fixed circular path about the axis of the transverse shaft 43. Since the rollers move in the slots'42 of their respective guide blocks 4| they will reciprocate the guide blocks and also the slide members 31 and 38 on which they are mounted. This reciprocation of the slide members will, as above described, oscil-.

late the cradle l8 between its two extreme positions 29 and so.

As previously mentioned, the clothes contained in the cradle are preferably sprayed with water or other cleaning fluids discharged by the perate top wall 25 of the cradle during the entire Washing operation. In order to supply hot or cold water to these spray pipes, the left end portion of the axle 26 'is hollow and has connected thereto the main supply pipe 52 provided with a quick opening valve 53. The pipe 52 is in turn connected to a hot and a cold water supply by thepipes 54 and 55 having quick opening valves 55 and 51 respectively. The main supply pipe 52 is preferably telescoped into the hollow end of the axle, a conventional packing gland unit 58 being providedv at the joint to prevent A pipe 59 disposed within the cradle fluid thereto.

A pulley ,60 mounted on the shaft 6| of the motor M is connected by'means of a belt 62 to the pulley 63 of the suction pump .P for driving the same. The discharge pipe 64. of the suction pump P is connected to the T-piece 65. One branch of the T-piece is connected to the main supply pipe 52 by means of the pipe 66 having a quick-opening valve 61 therein, while the other branch of'the T-piece discharges into a sewer or the like (not shown), through the pipe 68 having a quick-opening. valve 69.

The manner of'utilizing the machine of the present invention for performing the novel method of washing garments and the like, is briefly as follows: The sliding, door 9 and the hinged door 26 are opened and the garments or the like to be washed are placed in the cradle. The doors are then closed and the hot and cold water supply valves 56 and 51 are opened to allow water .at-a desired temperature to be discharged through the spray pipes 3| into the cradle. A suflicient quantity of soap may be added to the water through a trough 10 provided below the loading platform |2. This trough opens into the tub compartment l5. The motor M is then started and oscillates the cradle between its two extreme cylinders directly connected to the cradle.

verging garment-supporting bottom walls, said the path of said receptacle.

positions 29 and 30. After a sufilcient quantity of water has been sprayed onto the clothes, the hot and cold water valves 56 and 51 may be closed, it being understood that the valve 69 remains closed, while the valves 53 and 61 are open. The pump P recirculates the soapy water from the tub It to the spray pipes 3i to continuously spray the clothes while they are repeatedly pounded by being tossed or thrown alternately from one side of the cradle to the other side thereof. After the clothes have been thoroughly washed, the 'valve 61 is closed and the valve 69 is opened so that the soapy water may be discharged into a sewer or otherwise disposed of. After the soapy water has been entirely removed from the machine, the hot and/or cold water supply valves 56 and 51 are again opened so that clean water of the desired temperature may be sprayed on to.the clothes for rinsing them. The rinse water may either be recirculated or disposed of through pipe 68.

It has been found byactual test that in the practice of the above described meth0d,, arments and the like can be washed in a much shorter time than heretofore possible with known methods and that the present machine can be operated at a great saving in cost over that of prior laundry machines since only a fraction of the water and soap heretofore required is needed. While the crank mechanism, specifically illustrated in the drawings, is preferred, it, will be so .understood that the cradle may be oscillated by other means. These means may comprise, .e. g. suitably proportioned camsor compressed air What we claim is:

l. A washingmachine comprising a casing including a tub portion, a receptacle having conreceptacle having drain holes therein and being supported foioscillation within the casing about an axis approximately at the intersection of the a planes of said converging bottom walls,said axis being sufficiently above said tub portion to keep the receptacle above the liquid level in said tub, means for oscillating said receptacle about said axis to raise and toss the garment alternatelyv fromone side of the receptacle to the other side thereof, means for continuously spraying a liquid into said receptacle, and means for maintaining the liquid level in said ltu-b portion below the path of said receptacle. 4

2. A washing machine comprising a casing including a tub portion, a receptacle having conver ing garment-supporting bottom walls, said 65 receptacle having drain holes thereinand being supported for oscillation within the casing about an axis approximately at the intersection of the planes of said converging bottom walls, said axis being suiiiciently above said tub portion to keep the receptacle above the liquid level in said tub,

.means for oscillating said receptacle about said axis to raise and toss the garments alternately from one side of the receptacle to the other side thereof, means for continuously spraying a liquid into said receptacle, and means for recirculating the liquid draining from said receptacle into the tub portion, to said spraying means and maintaining the liquid level in said tub porton below 7 3. A washing machine comprising a tub; a receptacle within said tub having conver8in -8arment-supporting bottom walls, said receptacle being perforated to allow liquid to drain freely therefrom, means for oscillating said receptacle liquid in stre I articles in a body ofsaid cleaning liquid during as the cleaning "liquid to about an axis approximately at the intersection of the planes of said converging walls and through an angle and at a speed sufilcien't to toss the contents from one converging wall to the other with a definite impact, means for spraying a liquid into said receptacle towards said converging walls, said tub being disposed below said receptacle for receiving the liquid draining from said receptacle, and means for continuously withdrawing the liquid draining into said tub whereby the receptacle will not be immersed in liquid standing in said tub.

4. The method of cleansing textile articles which comprises tossing said articles with substantial velocity alternately against paced perfoby said articles during such treatment, with sum- 25 cient promptness to prevent any immersion of the articles in a bodyof said cleaning liquid during any of such treatment, and making the velocity of tossing sumcient to cause a substantial amount of the cleaning liquid carried by the articles at the time of each impact witheach wall to be squeezed from the articles by reason of such impact.

5. The method of cleansing textile articles which comprises tossing said articles with substantial velocity alternately against spaced perforate walls andwhile substantially all of said articles are fully unsubmerged in any liquid body of liquid and while the walls at theinstant arris under substantial velocity against said articles throughout such treatment, withdrawing said cleaning'liquid which is forced from said articles by the impact of said articles vaganst said walls and that which is unabsorbed by said articles during such treatment, with sumcient promptness to prevent any immersion of the any of such treatment, making the velocity of tossing sufllcient to cause a substantial amount of the cleaning liquid carried by the articles at the time of each impact with each wall to be squeezed from the articles by reason of such impact, and using said withdrawn cleaning liquid treat said articles further 6. -The method of cleansing textile articles which comprises throwing said articles with substantial velocity alternately against spaced perforate walls and while substantially all of said articles are free of any' immersion in any substantial body of liquid and while the walls at the instant of impact by said articles are moving in direc-. tions counter to the movement of the articles atthe instant of impact, spraying a cleaning liqwall to be squeezed out of said articles by reas'cn o of said impact, and-withdrawing said cleaning liquid which is forced from said articles by the impact of said articles against said walls and which is unabsorbed by saidarticles during such treatment, with sufllcient promptness to prevent any immersion of the articles in a body of said cleaning liquid during any of such treatment.

4 7. The method of cleansing textile articles which comprises tossing said articles back and forth between spaced, opposed perforate walls by movement of said walls in directions between said walls while substantiall allof said articles are free of any substantial immersion in a liquid, sprayinga cleaning liquid against said articles during such tossing, making the velocity of tossing sufiicient to cause a substantial amount of the cleaning liquid carried by said articles at the time of impact against said walls to be squeezed out of said articles solely by the forces of said impact against said walls, and withdrawing'said cleaning liquid which is forced from said articles by said impact against said walls and that sprayed liquid which is unabsorbed by said articles with sufficient promptness to prevent any.

immersion of the articles in a body of said cleaning liquid during any of said treatment.

8.The method as set forth in claim 7, and

9. The method of claim 7, and accelerating the speed of travel of each of said walls as that wall meets said articles to increase the force of the impact and then decelerating the speed of said travel of that wall to cause a tossing of said articles back to the other of said walls.

10. The method of cleansing textile articles which comprises tossing said articles with substantial velocity alternately against spaced perforate walls, during which substantially all of said articles are at all times free of any material immersiOn in any body of liquid, spraying a cleaning liquid against said article during such tossing, moving said walls alternately in the oppositedirectons to the travel of said articles in each toss to increase the relative velocity of I impact of the articles against said walls, accelerating the speed of travel of the walls. until after the said impact and then decelerating suchtravel in the same direction, and collecting and withdrawing said cleaning liquid which is forced from saidarticles of any of said articles in a bodyof said cleaning liquldduring any such treatment.

"1'. MOORE. CARL R..EBLlNG. 

